When the dead come knocking
by SLStars
Summary: Riley is saved by a group of survivals after she had an accident with her motorcycle. She's escaping from her past that keeps following her everywhere and Riley knows she should leave but there is someone in this new group she is getting more and more att
1. Chapter 1

Riley fell on the ground so hard that she couldn't even breath for seconds, just seeing stars. She exhaled every bit of air out of her lungs. _The axe!_ _Where's that damn axe?_ It fell out of her hand. She kicked a walker that was about to attack in the chest.

\- You wont eat from me... – she said from between gritted teeth. _Near the tree_. Riley tried to get her weapon while crawling to that tree. Meanwhile more and more walkers appeared somewhere behind her. She got the axe in the very last minute and hit a walker that was about to bite her with it. She sprang on her feet and killed another two of them but somehow more and more came. _Oh shit..._ she thought while she looked around.

They were everywhere around her, some of them came shuffling on their feet, some of the crawled their way to her, and there were some walkers that headed quite fast between the forest's trees.

Riley had alredy been in some bad situations during her survival in this new world, but this one seemed the worst of them. Her ankle was still in a huge pain from the falling with her motorcycle and the axe in her hand just seemed heavier and heavier with every second. She even lost her pistol that she had earlier.

She had that revolver for a long time but she never really used it. She only had it because she didn't wanted to be one of them. If she had to die anyway then she wont die by them. But when her motorcycle fell over not so long time ago the pistol somehow fell out of her pocket. She lost it and lost a lof of other things she would have needed now.

She thought that Atlanta was cleaner than the other parts of the country. Every radio station informed the people of the locations of the survival camps and Atlanta was one of them until the very end. The OCD was here too. But somewhat this city seemed the most infected of all.

Newer and newer walker fell on the ground – dead again as Riley was killing them, but she felt that the wave of walkers would never want to end. Two came when one fell. _I don't want it like this!_ she thought while she was more desperate with every second. She backed one step but she tumbled down again as she stood on her injured ankle.

It must have got injured when she fell with her motorcycle but she hadn't realised it before. _Adrenalin is a wonderful thing._ Riley thought this with such a cool mind. Maybe this was going to be the end.

\- Oh shit! – she screemed. – Where's it? Where's it?! – The axe was on the ground again _. If I make it I swear I'm gonna tie it to my hand..._

She kept crawling backwards until she hit a tree with her back. Now she finally counted them. There were 7 walkers. And she was alone. Without any kind of a weapon. She kicked a walker the last time than closed here eyes, and grabbed the little cross in her neck. And than she prayed. For the first time in month. She prayed for God for one last time.

Seven thud woke her up of the self-pity. She gaped at the seven dead-again bodies as they were lying in front of her. Two of them were only a few inches away from her. Every seven of them had an arrow in their head. A black arrow with green ends.


	2. Chapter 2

She must had been blanked out. She was not sure if she'd been hit or else, but if they saved her life than why'd they knock her out? She was just hoping that they didn't want to eat her alive or worse. There were two of them. One of them were carrying her on his back. She saw her feet as he was walking in his old, dirty and worn shoes and the only thing she could think of was her horrible headache. As she looked around she managed to look at the company of the man who was carrying her. He had her axe and some... owls?

\- Please... – she moaned and they stopped. The one who was toting her now – not so carefully- set Riley on her legs again. She was gidding horribly and her head if it was possible now was acheing more.

\- Are you all right? – asked the other man. Riley looked at him but she was so groggy like a hangover. She was seeing three men instead of one as she tried to take a good look at him.

\- I don't think so... – she said and almost fell. They cought her again. – My... My motorcycle. I have to go back. Thank you for all... – She fell as loud as possible on her side, the giddiness, her ancle and some other things that had happened to her in the past hour wasn't making it easier for her to stand. Great. Now her shoulder was acheing too. She must look so pitiable that the two men looked at one another and the one who was carrying her stepped to her again to help her up but Riley didn't let him.

\- Don't! – she said. – I have to go back. My motor, my duds... I need to...

\- I doubt you could go more than 20 meters on your own. – grunted the one who carryed her.

\- You don't understand. I _need_ my things. – Riley really had some stuff that she couldn't be able to move on without. They weren't all weapons and supplies, they were things from her past that helped her keep going and there also was something very important thing with her that she couldn't just leave behind. If the wrong person would find that something, well that would had some bad consequences.

\- It would be too dangerous to go back there, there may be more walkers there. – said the man with the owls. His face showed that he saw a lot of things alredy. It could be seen in his brighter blue eyes. Pain, anger, hunch...

\- I can go back, just give me back my stuff – she looked at her axe in that man's hand. – thanks for saving me again.

She saw the silent conversation between tha two man. The one with the long dark hair, and crossbow at his back looked at the one with the lighter brown hair, in his sheriff clothes. That man nodded and the one with the crossbow nodded back. They agreed at something.

It seemed a little ironic to Riley that the one with the sheriff clothes was the leader of them. Clothes make the man. He was a sheriff in the normal times and he is a sheriff now too.

\- You must have attrackted all of 'em here in this area. There must be only a few walkers left around your motorcycles. – said the dark haired.

\- Why are you helping me? – Riley asked. She didn't understand. They were strangers, they knew nothing of her and yet they were still willing to help her.

\- 'Couse if we didn't that would be a sign that we lost what we were before _this._ – said the sheriff. Riley somehow expected this kind of answer from this man. There were still some people who tried to stay a human in world that is never going to need this kind of thinking again. Survavival became everything. You even turn into an animal to save your own life.

\- You don't know me. What if i tried to kill you. – She said again. Riley knew she was talking against herself but she didn't need no one. She was lonely for ages now and she could do well on her own without any help from anyone. Getting together with others makes you weak, makes you inattentive and when you loose them it hurts as hell. She lost enough of her people to know this feeling she never wanna feel again.

\- There's the two of us against you only. And you're seriously injured. We would like to keep good people save and you don't seem to be a bad one.

Riley felt her lonelyness a bit hurting now. She felt it sometimes, than she forced herself to forget this feeling and it became better and she realized that she is perfictly well on her own too. She also had that secret with her that kept following her everywhere and always find her. She could always escape at the very last moment but she couldn't let others, innocent people maybe to die because of her again.

But now the lonelyness, she had as a company for so long she even thought about it as a person was digging a knife in to her chest cousing a desperate desire to have others around her again.

She couldn't help but nodded in agreement and the two men – if for some breef moments that would go away fast – followed her. And Riley wasn't alone.


	3. Chapter 3

They were right and it seemed that amost all walkers from the area must had been attracked to the forest by Riley. She must had been really loud because only a few of them were still on the road around the woman's vehicle but the situation was not that bad. The two men went ahead to kill them for good and all. They seemed to know each other very well. They communicated with looks only as they were finishing walkers off.

Riley could barely help them, she even had a problem with walking on her own. She limped after them as they were cleaning the are nearby. She felt quite pitiable in this situation. She had never needed anyon's help before and now she had a problem with walking or with just standing at all.

She could see it from the distance that her motorcylce was on the fritz. It couldn't be saved. But the trunk was intact and probably the stuff within it was in one piece too. Or at least she hoped so.

She kneeled down next to the wreck of her vehicle and hesitated for a minute but then opened it up. There was a small package wrapped in an old remainings of a t-shirt. She didn't unwrapped it, the two men had just stepped behind her. She didn't want them to see what was inside it. It was only her personal stuff that no one had to see except for her.

\- What's so important that you couldn't live without? – asked the man with the crossbow. Riley would rather answered something like „mind your business" but than she just pretended she hadn't heard his question. She went on with the content of her trunk. She had a lot of meele weapons. There was a machete, a long knife, she even used a screwdriver for killing walkers. And she had her faveourite, the axe that was now in the sheriff's hand. Of course she had guns with herself but she didn't like useing them. They were loud and they needed ammo which were quite rare things nowadays.

She had some canned food with her as well as some clothes to change sometimes. Riley didn't care much about higene anymore. She changed her clothes monthly and hadn't had a decent shower in ages. She only bathed when it was raining and sometimes when the weather was too hot. Then she looked for a river to have swim. In the winter when it was cold as hell she totally forgot about bathing. In a rotting world like this you didn't care about personal higene that much. You only care about staying alive.

\- Haven't you done yet? – asked the crossbowed man as he noticed some new walkers doddering in their direction.

\- Just a sec. – Riley was now looking for only one thing. It was small and shiney and the two man could barely see what was that when she hanged it in her neck and tucked it under her shirt.

\- You done? – asked the sheriff and Riley nodded. – Than go back now.

Riley wanted to say no, she wanted to leave them but the man with the crossbow had his hand outstreched to help her to get up. She wanted to say no so much. But that little monster inside her – the lonelyness that had made her accept the help before - was now made her accept that hand too. Even though she hesitated she said a silent yes to join them when she accepted the help.

She knew nothing about them, she didn't know how much people they have or where they were going and this had just come to her mind now. Her stomach made a backflip. What if it was a trap? Than why had they helped her?

\- Where's your camp? – she asked. She really was nervous now. The sheriff now stopped and looked at the one who was helping Riley to walk. That silent conversation again. The crossbowed man now stepped away from her and stood next to the sheriff who's face went trough a lot of changes in just a few seconds.

He was now scary and his stare was almost painfully tough.

\- We can't take you there as long as we don't know more about you. – He started. – At first you have to tell if you have a camp or people with you?

She had no family. She had no friends. She had no one. She only had something with her that some people would be really happy to have. But they lost her track.

\- I have no one. – she replied. – I'd been by myself for more than a year now.

\- And why are you alone? – asked the sheriff another question.

\- You know – Riley started. – keep loseing your friends and family is not so fun after a time. I thought it was easier to be on my own.

They locked eyes than looked at her injured ankle and shoulder. And than the one with the crossbow came to help me again.

\- We live in a prison. –said and they were on their way again.

 **Thank you so much for your reviews! They mean a lot to me and I'm so glad you like my story! Thank you again!**


	4. Chapter 4

The prison was surrounded by a large fence wich was braced with huge peaces of lumber. It had two fences to make the walkers even more difficult to break in and there were watchtowers with armed men and women in them. It was a pretty well secured prison. It also had a garden where vegetables were planted and a pigsty with real living pigs!

Riley was amazed by the community that was living inside these walls. There were only about a dozen of people living there. The one Riley was surprised by the most was the little baby, the sherriff's daugther. It was somehow great to see that such a small and vulnerable creation of God could survive in a cruel and mercyless world like this.

The people here were not like the ones Riley had met before since the apocalypse. Most of them were kind and helpful here and they hadn't lost all their hopes yet. Maybe that was the reason why they were different. Riley admired Rick Grimes, the „sheriff'. That's how she called him in her head. Not everyone could build a society like this in these days and here everyone had rights and opinion and they could almost live in full peace.

At first there were some people who was suspicius and didn't want to trust Riley at all. Like that old man, Hershel and there are still people like them. But to tell the truth she was not that kind of person who smiled and talked a lot. She was just hopeing that her ankle would heal fast and that she could leave some night without anyone noticing.

She only talked to the Sheriff and to the redneck guy's friend Carol. She didn't want to get attached to them because they were too good people to bring danger to their – at least now – peaceful lifes. And if Riley stayed at a place for more than a few months _they_ always found her.

 _They_ and Riley once were friends but then she realized that they were not humans anymore. They did horrible things Riley was disgusted of and she stole something from them that was really precious for their leader. And since than – been almost two years now – Riley had been haunted by them everywhere. When she lost her people it was because of them. And the touhgt that she was alive and good people died because of her was even worse.

That was the reason she wanted to leave. Before she got so emotionally attached that her selfish part couldn't let her to leave them for loneliness again. Her shoulder healed well after about three days but her ankle was still in a bad condition.

Hershel – he was the doctor – told her that it needed about two weeks. _Too much_ – tought Riley. _Way too much._ It was fall and the weather was still nice but within a few weaks it turns cold. Which is good and bad at the same times. Cold made the walkers slower which was great at a lot of points. But it wasn't so easy now to have clothes that could protect you from the winter's cold and campfires were dangerous.

Not only the walkers meant the only danger theese times. People were even more dangerous sometimes. They weren't just mindless slow monsters who were only dangerous if you were alone or weak but they had plans and weapons and they were cruel and crazy sometimes.

Riley wanted to leave and go to somewhere else fast but with this ankle she couldn't make it alone. She even lost her motorcycle. Her sweet old motorcycle.

She was sitting alone in a cell, packing together her things when someone spoke.

\- You goin huh? – the redneck guy, Daryl. Riley almost fell off the bad she got so frightened. She was thinking about what was gonna be the next move for her.

\- Maybe. – she answered. Daryl didn't answered immediatley. He was just watching as Riley went on with the packing.

\- You won't be doing well on your own. – he said after a while. – At least with that ankle.

\- I won't know if I won't try. – she said but she felt that rock on her heart again.

\- You sure you want to leave? We need people like you.

That sentence surprised Riley. He didn't know anything about her. How could he tell if she was a good or a bad person. Riley herself didn't know the answer for this question but she definitely didn't consider herself as a good person. Good persons doesn't let others to live their lifes in danger because of themself.

\- You barely know anything about me. – she answered. Maybe a bit more rude than she planned. She hadn't planned to be rude at all. She was just rude naturally. But it seemed that this was this man's language too.

\- I can only see that you hurt no one yet and you're planning to leave in silent. Ain't no bad guy would leave without a big finale. We have place for everyone and we need people to help us. Just think 'bout it. This is not that bad place at all. – and than he left.

And left Riley thinking – even fighting inside her. One part of her wanted to stay so badly. Wanted to have some rest and belong to somewhere again. To have friends and people she could talk to. She was on her own so much that she sometimes forgot her own voice. But her other part knew that she should had had to leave alredy. _Just 'til my ankle heals._ – she tought and put her pack back under the prison cell's small dirty and smelly bed.

She went outside just to have a small walk around the prison. It would had been quite peaceful if it wasn't a prison and walkers hadn't been rattleing on the other side of the fence. Birds were singing and lukewarm wind was blowing. She saw Rick ploughing and Daryl Dixon going outside on his motorbike for a run for supplies.

She hadn't know what her part would be in this society and than she knew it. If she really stayed here for a while, than going out on supply runs would be her part. With this thought in her head she headed to Rick to have a talk.


End file.
